Driving along the highway yesterday, I saw a church sign with the sermon title, “Faith is Daring the Soul to Go Beyond What the Eyes Can See!” I like that. It agrees with what the Bible says in Romans 1:17: “The righteous man shall live by faith” (NASB).

This is just the opposite of “Seeing is believing,” the rule most people live by today. I’ve even been advised by someone to believe only half of all I see.

To be sure, that last approach may be safer than the practice of one person I met. She said, “I just believe everything I see or hear. That way, I have all my bases covered.” But neither of these is what faith is all about.

Faith depends on a lack of visible evidence. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV). A good synonym for faith is trust. Trust, or faith, is something we all do every day, whether we realize it or not. Every time we sit down on a chair, or get into our car or lie down on a physician’s exam table, or relax (?) in a dental chair. We shop for food, trusting those who handled it. Without faith, we couldn’t ride elevators, or board planes.

In the same way, God asks us to trust Him. “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB).

You can put your plans, your very life, into God’s hands. He knows what’s best for you. He will give you what you would ask for if you could see the end from the beginning. You can bring to Him all your problems, all your anxieties and perplexities. He never gets tired of listening to your needs, whether they’re large or small. After all, He’s got the whole world in His hands! Literally!

God invites you to trust Him today by going beyond what your eyes can see!
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